Romania’s Competition Council has authorized the transaction through which local lender OTP Bank Romania acquired Banca Romaneasca.

Banca Romaneasca is a member of the National Bank of Greece (NBG) group. OTP also agreed to take over the Romanian assets owned by NBG subsidiaries in and Malta.

In order to start the integration process, OTP also needs the approval of Romania’s National Bank (BNR), which will only be granted if certain conditions are met, according to market sources.

OTP Bank Romania signed an agreement with the National Bank of Greece to acquire the majority shareholding (99.28%) in Banca Romaneasca in July this year. The transaction was estimated to be completed this summer.

At the end of last year, OTP Bank had a market share of 2%, ranking 11th based on the assets, while Banca Romaneasca ranked 14th, with a market share of 1.62%. Following this trade, OTP will now have a market share of about 4% and will enter the top ten biggest local banks, possibly on the eighth place.

editor@romania-insider.com